Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I cautiously welcome the Bill as it is essential to regulate the provision of any treatment or procedure for the purposes of surrogacy and IVF in the State. It is incredulous for this most important medical procedure not to be regulated given that is has been flagged for so many years.

I am sure we all know couples who, through no fault of their own, cannot have a child without the assistance of AHR treatment. The health and well-being of the mother and baby must always be to the fore and it cannot be allowed to become a for-profit procedure. While the not-for-profit section of the Bill would ensure that domestic surrogacy would not be abused for profit, there are concerns, as have been alluded to throughout the debate, about international surrogacy which is not addressed in the Bill. I understand an Oireachtas committee will look at that. It is an extremely important issue because one cannot separate domestic and international surrogacy.

The Bill, of course, does not address the issue of access to surrogacy. It will still mean it will be out of reach for so many people who cannot afford the types of expenses that are allowed for in this Bill if we only look at the expenses for surrogacy alone. In respect of IVF, the chance for couples and individuals is even more out of reach.

I listened to Deputy Paul Murphy's contribution this afternoon. It was really important to hear what he said in relation to his personal experiences of the emotional and physical toll it takes on the woman and the financial costs incurred by couples. On many occasions it can cost tens of thousands of euro because, obviously, it is difficult and does not normally work first time around for most couples and individuals.

It is, therefore, important that this would be available in the public healthcare system, as has been discussed today. There are concerns regarding the recognition of parentage. It is not clear in the Bill that the parental and guardianship rights in respect of children born through surrogacy will apply to existing families. We must also ensure the child and each of his or her parents has full rights. I welcome the commitment given earlier by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to look at this further down the line on Committee Stage.

With regard to people born as a result of AHR treatment, we need to make sure there are provisions that provide the rights of a person to access information concerning his or her origins. We have seen far too many times in our recent past the upset caused to people who cannot access their own birth history. This should not happen again. We also need to ensure that anybody who is not fully compliant with the AHR procedures should be held to account. We should be assured they will never be allowed to practice again if they break any of the rules or regulations.

I would like to talk about counselling and the mandatory counselling section. Like many others, I have concerns about mandatory counselling. As somebody who has provided counselling, the concept of counselling is that somebody has an issue and comes to you to work through it. I am always unsure and concerned when we put in a provision, particularly a law, that states a person is mandated to go and access counselling. That absolutely needs to be looked at.

I have gone through the legislation and it is very detailed. It is a start. Having listened to the contributions made today, however, many issues still need to be addressed. My party and I are absolutely up for ensuring this legislation is fit for purpose and that we deal with the issues that have been ongoing, as has been said, for more than 20 years.

See this speech in context